Landmarks

Old St. Hilary’s mission church was built in1888 on land donated by Benjamin and Hilarita Lyford as a place of worship for the railroad workers in Tiburon. The building is of significant architectural importance because it is one of the few remaining Carpenter Gothic churches to survive in its original setting. The vaulted ceiling and interior walls of redwood and fir are noted for their fine acoustics. Deconsecrated in 1953, the building was rescued from destruction by the establishment of the Landmarks Society in 1959. Surrounded by a rare wildflower preserve, Old St. Hilary’s features dramatic views of Tiburon, Belvedere and San Francisco.

Old St. Hilary’s is open April thru October for visitors on Sundays 1- 4pm.

The China Cabin is the Social Saloon from the S.S. China, a side-wheeled steamer built in 1866 by the William H. Webb shipyard in New York. Commissioned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the China carried mail and passengers from its home port of San Francisco to Asia. The elegant room was salvaged when the ship became obsolete in 1879 and was burned for scrap metal in Tiburon Cove. The Landmarks Society has restored the interior with 22k gold leaf, walnut woodwork, cut-glass floral window panes, and brass chandeliers. The China Cabin was designated a National Maritime Monument in 1978.

China Cabin s is open April thru October for visitors on Saturdays and Sundays 1- 4pm.

In 1884, Peter Donahue completed the extension of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad to Point Tiburon transforming it into a major railroad & ferry terminus and maintenance yard. After the last train ran in 1967, the shoreline and the depot building were deeded to the Town of Tiburon for use as open space and a museum. On the ground floor is a railroad & ferry museum featuring a working scale model of the Point Tiburon yard circa 1900-1910. Upstairs is the restored stationmaster’s residence, 1913-1940. The Depot is the only surviving dual use terminal west of the Hudson River and was placed the on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tiburon Railroad & Ferry Museum is open April thru October for visitors on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 1- 4pm.

Circa 1870, the cottage is the oldest structure on the Tiburon Peninsula. The building is representative of Tiburon’s housing during the railroad/farming era, and was home for brick kiln laborers and tenant farmers. Purchased in 1944 by William and Helen Newman, the farmyard was transformed into a terraced garden. Bequeathed to Landmarks 50 years later, the restored cottage, overlooking Richardson Bay, has two galleries for exhibits and receptions. The delightful gardens and paths maintained by master gardeners are based on the Newman’s design with many of the original plantings surviving.

The Art & Garden Center is open April thru October by appointment only.

The Landmarks History Collections was established in 1959 by the Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society as an institution for the gathering and conservation of records, artifacts, fine art, photographs and ephemera which chronicles the history of the Marin County area identified as El Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio, particularly that portion east of the Redwood Highway which includes the Strawberry and Tiburon Peninsulas, the City of Belvedere, and Angel Island State Park. Space in the Boardwalk center has been converted to a controlled environment for safe storage of thousands of irreplaceable items; it also provides an extensive work area and equipment for the repair and care of fragile material, and it holds record and filing systems facilitating quick identification and reference for local history research.

The History Collections is normally open from 8am – 1pm Tuesday thru Thursday or by appointment. Contact the Archivist at lmsarchivist@sbcglobal.net or 415-435-5490.